Not Your Fault
by fallingandsoaring
Summary: SPOILERS FOR ENDGAME. One-shot that takes place at the end of the movie.


**SPOILER ALERT: This takes place post-Endgame, so there are spoilers from the movie! Do not read if you haven't seen the movie/don't want to be spoiled!**

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Peter was silent during the funeral. He'd been to multiple funerals in his lifetime-his parents, Uncle Ben-but they never got easier the more he went to. Aunt May stood solemnly by his side the whole time. He was grateful to have her there, but with everything that had happened, it was hard to feel happy. He was finally in the presence of all of the remaining Avengers (which had never happened aside from the battle), yet he didn't even care. The only person he wanted to stand next to was gone.

When the service was over, everyone dispersed. Most of the Avengers remained outside, but Peter didn't pay much attention to them. His eyes found little Morgan, seated on the porch talking to Happy.

The Avengers didn't talk much about what had happened the past five years. Sure, the battle had been won, but it had required a high price. Peter had gathered enough to learn that Tony went into this fight for him. Tony had lost all of this-Pepper, Morgan, his home-for him.

Peter excused himself to the bathroom, needing to get away if only for a few minutes. Once there, he splashed his face with water, as if it could wash away some of the loss he was feeling. He looked in the mirror at his emotionless expression.

What if he had been able to get the gauntlet off of Thanos in time when they were on Titan? Or if he had helped Tony fight Thanos instead of rescuing their allies from space. Maybe they could have prevented the snap from even happening. What if he had been faster racing the stones to the van? Would they have been sent back before Thanos had a chance to use them-or before Tony did? Dr. Strange had said that there was only one possible outcome where they won, but there had to have been another way. There had to be _something_ he could have done.

With a deep breath, Peter left the bathroom. This was the first time he saw the inside of the house, and as he went to meet Aunt May outside, he found himself looking at all the furniture and art that decorated the rooms. Tony had been able to briefly enjoy a family life after all. Peter wandered into the kitchen. There wasn't even a dishwasher, just a drying rack for dishes. Peter smiled at the thought of Tony doing dishes without any advanced technology. He was about to leave when one of the pictures on the shelf in the corner caught his eye. He walked over to it and picked it up for a closer look.

It was a picture of him and Tony, back when Aunt May had no idea that he was Spiderman. Peter remembered that day-they had been working on suit improvements in the lab, and Peter brought up that Aunt May seemed a little suspicious that the internship was actually a real thing. Tony had suggested a picture for evidence, and they quickly (and excitedly) printed out a certificate. A picture with Tony Stark? Peter was beaming, and it showed. They took a few shots, and Tony had given Peter the more serious, official-looking one to show Aunt May. Tony had framed one of the sillier takes.

"How're you holding up?" Pepper asked from the doorway, surprising the kid. He jumped, nearly dropping the framed picture but managed to catch it before it fell.

"Oh Ms. Potts. I'm uh, I'm okay."

"He might not have admitted it, but he loved that picture." Pepper said with a smile as she looked at the image in his hands. "You wouldn't believe how many times I would catch him looking at it. Why don't you take it with you?"

"Thanks." Peter paused. He gazed at the picture for another moment, and then looked at Pepper. "I'm sorry. I didn't want-he shouldn't have given this up for me…"

"Peter." Pepper placed a hand on his shoulder. Her eyes were red, yet somehow she still looked put together in a sad sort of way. "Tony was never going to stop. Losing you…he was wrecked. Right after Thanos' snap, when Tony came back to Earth…he wouldn't stop talking about you. How he 'lost his kid'. When we had Morgan, he had another person to live for, but he still missed you. You might have inspired him to rejoin the fight, but he did this for everyone. For you, for me, for Morgan, for the rest of the Avengers, for the rest of the world. It's not your fault, Peter."

Peter nodded as tears began to fall down his face. Pepper pulled the poor kid in for a hug, and they stood there for a moment. Peter crying softly into her shoulder, while a few silent tears of her own streamed down Pepper's face. Peter then pulled away, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

"Thanks, Ms. Potts. I better find Aunt May."

He left Pepper in the kitchen and found his aunt standing by the porch, scrolling through her phone. She had called out of work to be here with him, and even though he was struggling to fit back into a world that experienced five years without him, she had had to live those five years thinking that she would never see her nephew again. Peter looked once more at the picture in his hands, then out towards the lake. He had a lot to get used to.

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**Author's Note: I haven't written anything in a while (I'm so rusty-sorry), but lately I've had the urge to write some Avengers fanfiction. The relationship between Peter and Tony is one of my favorites! Endgame was so heartbreaking, and I wanted to explore the ending a little bit. I also started writing a Tony/Peter fanfic prior to watching Endgame that doesn't include Thanos/the events of Infinity War. I feel like it would be nice to continue to write/read that to cope with Tony's death as I need some more Tony/Peter moments!**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this fanfic; thanks for reading!**


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